One Living Legend
by Acri
Summary: Jecht had a daughter, lost at sea at the age of 10. She was one of Braska's guardians as well. But what is the anger sensed between her and Auron? She tells Tidus her story, but will she join him and Yuna in their story.
1. Two of a Kind

One Living Legend  
  
Chapter 1  
~ Two of a Kind  
  
The group was on their way out of Luca. Auron stopped. "What's wrong?" Tidus asked.  
  
"You don't hear that?" Auron said. Tidus shook his head. "Figures."  
  
"I can hear it," said Lulu.  
  
"Yeah, he's such a bonehead," Wakka said patting Tidus on the head.  
  
The noise most of them heard stopped. "Technically, if you think about it, everyone's a bonehead," came a voice. They all turned around to see a person in a black robe with the hood over their head. "Ah, hello again, Auron."  
  
"What are you doing here?" Auron growled.  
  
"You don't look so happy," the person said.  
  
"Hey, that's Sir Auron to you!" Wakka said.  
  
The hood was lowered and the face of a twenty-seven year old woman with light brown hair and yellowish-green eyes was seen. "If you knew him as long as I have, you wouldn't need to call him sir," she said.  
  
"Who are you?" Lulu asked.  
  
The woman bowed. "Rayn Terran, unofficial guardian of Lord Braska," she said.  
  
Kimahri growled. "You lie!" Wakka shouted.  
  
"Why would I? To stop Lady Yuna's pilgrimage? Why would I do that?" Rayn asked.  
  
"Rayn," Auron said. She looked at him. "You're still not over Braska, are you?"  
  
She looked away. "Don't start," she growled.  
  
"So you were a guardian of my father?" Yuna asked. The summoner walked up to the newcomer.  
  
Rayn nodded. "Right along side Auron and Jecht," she said. "They didn't want me there in the first place anyway."  
  
Auron put his right hand on Rayn's shoulder. "Just like you shouldn't be here. You don't belong."  
  
"You don't either, old man. . ."  
  
"You're only eight years younger than me." Auron and Rayn were looking each other right in the eyes. Both extremely annoyed with each other.  
  
"Okay, okay. Settle down you two!" Wakka said. Rayn backed down and turned away from Auron.  
  
"What's up with her?" Tidus asked.  
  
"She appeared at the first temple," Auron said. "Lord Braska took a shine to her. Jecht and I thought she was annoying. Later, Jecht saw what Lord Braska saw in her. We didn't get along."  
  
"You tell it as if I were dead," Rayn stated.  
  
"I should have killed you back then," Auron growled.  
  
Rayn turned around. "You want to kill me? I'm right here, take your best shot!" Rayn stood there facing Auron.  
  
"Auron. . ." Yuna said. "Why?"  
  
Auron paused. "Lady Yuna. . ." Yuna and Auron walked away from the crowd. "She tried to get your father to end his pilgrimage. When that didn't work, when they got to Zanarkand, she almost took his sacrifice. She was killed. . ."  
  
"Unsent?"  
  
"No, she was brought back. She has a creature, as a friend. It's the Legendary Phoenix. It came to her for the first time that day and granted her life once again. She was confused when she came back. . ."  
  
"So, should I not trust her?" Yuna asked.  
  
"I can't tell you who to trust and who to not trust," he said.  
  
Yuna nodded. The summoner walked over to Rayn. "Will you become one of my guardians?"  
  
Auron sat down heavily. He couldn't believe it. Rayn looked at Yuna confused. "Can you trust me?"  
  
"I don't know, can I?"  
  
"That sure backfired. . ." Rayn huffed. She then leaned towards Yuna. "You know, I don't have the Phoenix anymore. . . and most of the stuff Auron told you about me was a little. . . well. . . off. . ."  
  
Auron jumped to his feet and ran over. "Rayn!" he growled.  
  
Rayn stretched. "Don't worry, I'm not going to say anything!" She smirked and looked directly into Auron's eyes. "You can do that." She then turned back to Yuna. "My lady," she said. "If you'll excuse me, I have work to do." Rayn then turned around and began walking away.  
  
"Wait!" Tidus shouted. "What do you know about my father?"  
  
Rayn paused and turned her head.  
  
"About, Jecht."  
  
"Jecht. . . was you father?" Rayn smiled. "So, you're Tidus?"  
  
Looking at the newcomer a little puzzled, Tidus nodded his head.  
  
Turning all the way around, Rayn said, "Seems we have one thing in common, young Tidus."  
  
"And that would be?" Tidus asked.  
  
"We have the same father."  
  
Everyone froze, except Auron, and Kimahri. "So," Tidus said after a long while. "You're my sister?"  
  
"Seems that way, doesn't it?" Rayn responded.  
  
Tidus walked up to Rayn. "Can you, tell me what's happened?" he asked softly. "Everything from ten years ago?"  
  
Rayn looked to Auron who seemed to growl. "Yeah. . . just give me a while to think. . . and then I'll tell you." Rayn turned around and then began to leave once again.  
  
"I thought she was coming with us," Wakka said.  
  
"She will," Auron said. "In time." 


	2. History

Chapter 2  
  
~ History  
  
After a very long time, in the Thunder Plains, when everyone stopped at the Traveling Agency, Tidus walked in and was tripped. Everyone looked at the blonde laughed.  
  
"Brother, you need to be more observant!"  
  
Tidus turned his head and smiled. "So, you're back?" Tidus jumped up. "Are you back for good?"  
  
"We'll see." Rayn scratched her head. She looked up at Auron. Auron sighed and nodded, she nodded in response. "Alright, I can tell you now."  
  
"Tell me?" Tidus raised an eyebrow in question.  
  
"About what happened ten years ago you dunce!" she shouted and helped him up.  
  
Tidus dusted himself off. "Right. . . thanks, sis."  
  
"No problem."  
  
Later that day, as everyone was doing as they wished, Rayn walked to Tidus and had him follow her into the woods. There wasn't anything out there. They were in Macalania Woods. Rayn approached a fallen tree and sat down. "You wanna know what happened then, do ya?" she asked quietly, placing her elbows on her knees and her face on her hands.  
  
"Yeah," Tidus replied. "I need to so I can understand it all."  
  
Rayn smiled. "Right," she whispered. She sighed. "It all a long time ago for me. Before I even knew I had a brother. . . I was ten, and I went sailing with Dad. A storm hit, and I was swept overboard." She moved her head so her hands covered her eyes. "Dad tried to save me, but I was swept under." She paused for a moment and went on. "When I awoke, I was in Luca. I had been caught up in a fishing net. It belonged to a group of Al Bhed. I had no idea where I was, or what they were saying for that matter! So, I ran. All through Luca, just to find I had nowhere to go, and no place to call home." She moved her head back up and looked at her brother, and then she held out her right hand, which had a long scar on it. "I got this," she said. "From stealing."  
  
"Stealing?" Tidus asked, looking at the mark.  
  
"Yeah, it was the only way to get food, or anything else for that matter for me back then. And there were only two times I was caught. The first, when I got this scar, the second, when I saw Dad again. That was the day that changed my life. . . yes it was."  
  
~Flashback~  
  
"Hey! Let go of me!" Seventeen-year-old Rayn was being pushed through the streets of a small town. She had shackles on her hands. "I told you I didn't steal anything!" she shouted to the two guards who were moving her along. Her eyes shifted to movement from the temple and she recognized a man. "Ah! Dad!" she shouted to him. "Dad!" When he didn't respond, she growled and yelled. "Jecht! Help!" He looked in her direction, but didn't say anything.  
  
* * *  
  
"Jecht?" Braska and Auron walked up to Jecht. "Who was that?" Braska asked.  
  
"I think," Jecht said. "That that's my daughter." He then looked to Braska and Auron.  
  
"But," said Auron. "I thought you said she died. Does that mean that she's unsent?"  
  
"There's a possibility," Jecht said. "But then again, she could have made it out alive."  
  
* * *  
  
"Hey!" Rayn shouted at the guards of the cell that she was enclosed in. "Let me out! I didn't do anything to you!" She sighed and leaned against the wall.  
  
Braska walked over to the guard and spoke with him, afterward, Jecht walked over to the cell. "You called my name earlier, didn't you?" he asked.  
  
Rayn crossed her arms. "What's it to ya?" she said.  
  
"You also called me 'Dad'. Why?"  
  
She turned and put her arms on the gate. "You're Jecht, aren't you? From Zanarkand, not the ruins though."  
  
Jecht nodded. "You're Rayn, my daughter?"  
  
"Who else would I be?" she asked.  
  
Leaning closer, Jecht asked, "If you are, then how did you get here, to Spira, and how old were you?"  
  
Rayn put her arms through the bars. "I was swept overboard in a storm and sank, I was ten," she said. "Been around ever since."  
  
"As a thief?" Auron asked from behind Jecht.  
  
"Don't judge me. . . I did what I had to so I could survive," growled Rayn. "You don't know what I've been through!"  
  
"I'm glad I don't," Auron huffed and walked away.  
  
Rayn stuck out her tongue as Auron departed, her father chuckled.  
  
Braska walked over to the guard. "Release her, would you?" he asked.  
  
"But Lord Braska! She's a criminal!" said the guard.  
  
Braska turned to Rayn. "Do you promise not to do it ever again?" he asked her.  
  
"Promise!" she said happily.  
  
The guard sighed and unlocked the gate. Rayn walked out and immediately hugged her father. She then turned to Braska and bowed. "Thank you, Lord Braska. I appreciate it, I truly do."  
  
Auron turned around. "Lord Braska, Jecht, we gotta get going."  
  
"Already?" Jecht and Braska said at the same time.  
  
Rayn looked to Auron. "And, what about me?" she asked.  
  
"You're staying behind!" Auron growled.  
  
Behind? Rayn thought. Not again. . . "But," she said softly. "I just met my father for the first time in seven years. . . you can't just leave. . . what if we never cross paths again?"  
  
"We will. . ." Jecht said to his daughter. "You just stay here and take care of yourself. we'll be back." Jecht said this and turned away, Braska followed his guardian.  
  
As the three men began to walk away, Rayn stepped forward. "Wait!" she shouted. They all stopped and turned.  
  
Auron crossed his arms. "What now?" he growled.  
  
"What if I were to like, go with you all. . ." she said. She ran up to them. "I don't have to be a guardian, just. . . I don't know. . . I just don't want to be left alone again."  
  
Braska looked to Jecht and smiled, he then looked to Auron who sighed heavily and said, "She's going to hold us back."  
  
"No!" Rayn said. "I won't! I promise! If I do, you can just drop me off somewhere."  
  
Jecht stepped towards his daughter and put his arm around her shoulders. "What do you say Braska? Can she?"  
  
Braska nodded. "She can come with us, and she'll be my youngest guardian."  
  
A surge of cheer ran up through Jecht and Rayn. They turned to each other. "Alright!" they said at the same time. They hugged each other tightly.  
  
When they separated, Rayn walked over to Auron. "Looks like we're going to have to get along now, aren't we?" she said.  
  
Auron growled. "Unfortunately."  
  
Rayn then ran ahead and did a cartwheel.  
  
Through the trip, Rayn tried to remain as strong as the three men. She wasn't going to rest until they did. She wouldn't eat until they did. But, when nature calls, you gotta go! One night, when the four were resting, Rayn curled up against a fallen tree. There she laid still, she was tired and had worn herself out from the whole day's experience.  
  
Slowly, Rayn began to shiver because the temperature started to drop at night. Auron looked over at her and got to his feet. He approached her, removed his jacket, and placed it over her, ceasing her shaking. He then went back to his place and sat down.  
  
Rayn slowly opened her eyes and looked at Auron. She smiled and tucked her head into the cloth. At the same time that she was getting warm, she was also learning what Auron's scent was.  
  
The next day, when Auron awoke, his jacket was on him as he slept against a tree. Rayn was up and stretching. "Good morning Sir Auron!" she said as she leaned down and then side-to-side.  
  
"Good morning," he replied softly. "Where're Braska and Jecht?"  
  
Rayn smiled. "Still sleeping," she said, pointing to the two. Her father was sleeping in a tree with one leg hanging down. At the base of that tree, lay Lord Braska. "You want me to wake them so we can get going?"  
  
"Nah," Auron said smiling. "Let them rest."  
  
"You should as well, you don't look so good."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Rayn got on her knees and crawled over to her comrade. She felt his forehead. "You're a little warm. Sit up and turn around." Auron looked at her with a confused expression but did as she asked. She placed her head against his back. "Breath in." He did so. "Breath out." He did as he was told. "Again."  
  
"I don't see how. . ." Auron began to say but was interrupted.  
  
"Just do it, please," Rayn said. The twenty-five year old Auron breathed in slowly, and then exhaled just the same. Jecht's daughter moved from behind him. "Lay flat on your back, please." Auron sighed and plopped backward. "Thanks." She pulled her hair back and placed the side of her head on his chest. "Again." A few seconds later Rayn sat up. "Well. . . that solves everything."  
  
"What does?" Auron asked, sitting up.  
  
"You're sick as hell, and if you don't keep your jacket next time, you'll get worse," she said. She then smiled and her eyes lit up. "Drink lots of fluids!" She stood up and turned around.  
  
"Well, Braska, wasn't that cute?"  
  
"It very well was, Jecht."  
  
Rayn turned her head and looked at Jecht and Braska with a look that would cast death on them both. "I'll kill you both!" she shouted and ran at them. A few yards away, she looked at Braska and winked, he nodded and held out his hands, one on top of the other. Rayn jumped, stepping on his hands, and he boosted her up into the tree. She flew up into the tree and knocked her dad out. She landed on him and started punching him. Jecht on the other hand, just laughed.  
  
"Are you getting this Auron?" Braska asked, watching Rayn attack her father.  
  
"Got it ever since she left from over here," Auron said, recording everything on a sphere. He and Braska both were laughing as well.  
  
Later that day, still in Macalania Woods, Rayn sat at the water's edge in the forest. "Hey," Auron said, walking up next to her. "Are you alright?"  
  
"Yeah," she said. There was a slight tinge of anger, jealously, and sadness all mixed up in her voice.  
  
"You don't sound like it," Auron said.  
  
"Trust me, I'm fine. I've always been okay." She brought her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.  
  
"I'll leave then," Auron said, walking away.  
  
"Go to hell. . ." she said softly.  
  
Auron heard this, but chose not to respond. A few moments later, Jecht was about to call for Rayn, but she was already walking from the woods. Her head was down, her eyes on the ground, and her hands were in the pockets of her gray pants. When she noticed everyone looking at her, she looked up and said, "What? Is something wrong?"  
  
"No," said Jecht. "You've just been a little distant, we were wondering if you were okay."  
  
"Liar," she said with a smile. "You were not thinking about that." She then turned and started down the path.  
  
After traveling most of the day and well into night, they reached the Thunder Plains. Jecht had decided that he wanted to try his hand at dodging lightning. Auron once again held the sphere and he, Braska, and Rayn all stood under a lightning tower. Jecht on the other hand, was standing out in the open. "Hit me with your best!" he shouted at the sky.  
  
"He's going to get hurt," said Braska.  
  
"He doesn't care," Rayn said, leaning against the tower.  
  
"Hey, you guys!" Jecht called, as soon as he said that, and everyone looked at him, he was hit by lightning.  
  
"Whoa!" Rayn shouted. She ran out there to her father. "Are you okay?"  
  
He smiled. "Yeah, just peachy," he replied.  
  
There was a small flash and Rayn jumped back, she had dodged the lightning. She looked to her father and laughed, then pointed up and to her dad and said, "Ha!" Zap! She was then hit as well. She flipped backward and hit the ground. "Crap. . ." she said as she lay sprawled out on the ground on her stomach. "That hurt like hell."  
  
"Can you move?" Jecht asked.  
  
"I can feel it in my teeth. . ."  
  
Auron laughed, he had gotten that on the sphere as well. Braska laughed. "Like father, like daughter," said Braska.  
  
"Hey Dad?" Rayn asked, getting to her feet.  
  
"Yeah?" Jecht said, doing the same.  
  
"Summoners. . . can they be unsent and still do their job?"  
  
"Let's see. . ." Jecht and Rayn ran after Braska, chasing him and Auron out of the Thunder Plains, all the way to the nearest Travel Agency.  
  
As Braska and Auron bought items, Rayn leaned against the wall, and Jecht sat in a chair. "Hey Dad," Rayn said.  
  
"Yeah? What is it?" responded Jecht.  
  
"Back there. . . you lit up like a Christmas tree. . ."  
  
"Bite me. . ."  
  
"You'll regret that. . ."  
  
"Go to hell. . ."  
  
Rayn stood up straight. "I'm not goin' alone, I'll be taking you with me!"  
  
Jecht got up. "Oh yeah?"  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
Braska walked by. "Settle down you two," he said. They both went back to their positions, one sitting and the other leaning against the wall. "And if anyone's going to be beating up anyone around here, I say it will be me, it's time for my revenge!"  
  
A shocked look appeared on Jecht and his daughter's faces. When Braska walked out of the building, they followed, slowly. Auron laughed.  
  
Outside, Braska said, "Alright, get going."  
  
"You. . . weren't kidding?" Rayn said.  
  
"Nope. . ." Braska turned around to face them. He summoned Ifrit and Rayn and Jecht took off running, nothing was going to stop them. "Get them Ifrit!" Braska said, and Ifrit took off after them.  
  
"You think he'll hurt them?" Auron asked, walking up next to Braska.  
  
"Let us hope. . ." Braska looked to his guardian and smiled, they then calmly walked down the path, every once in a while hearing screams or shouts to run faster.  
  
The next time Braska and Auron saw Rayn or Jecht, they were hanging upside down from a tree. Rayn had her arms crossed over her chest since her shirt wasn't tucked in. Jecht was swinging back and forth, trying to find a way to get down. Ifrit had vanished.  
  
"Rayn," Auron said. "Are you okay?"  
  
"The blood is rushing to my head." She said calmly. Then she shouted, "Do you think I'm okay?" Blood began trickling from her nose.  
  
Braska stepped forward. "Rayn?" Jecht swung to his daughter's rope that was tied around her ankles and untied it. He then crossed to his rope and got loose.  
  
Rayn on the other hand, fallen to the ground and didn't move. Auron ran over. "Rayn?" He knelt at her side; a small streak of blood went from her nose to her forehead. Jecht ran to his daughter's other side, Braska stood next to Jecht. Auron sat her and leaned her against his chest.  
  
Suddenly, Rayn's eyes flew open and she punched to her left, hitting Auron in the face. She got to her feet. "Oh God. . . Auron! I'm so sorry!" she cried out. Auron lay on his side rubbing his face. She dropped to her knees and crawled over to him.  
  
"My fault," Auron said, sitting up straight.  
  
"No, it's completely mine!" Rayn responded.  
  
Jecht snickered. "Actually," he said. "If you think about it, it's all Braska's fault."  
  
"It's all three of our faults," Rayn said. "No one should get the single blame." She sat on her legs. After a few moments of silence, she whispered, "Maybe it's just my fault." She then stood up and stretched. "Well. . . Let's head out!" She then began to walk down the path.  
  
On the arrival at Macalania Temple, Rayn waited outside of the Cloister of Trials. She was wearing Auron's jacket. He had given it to her since she was cold on the way to the temple. She clutched the jacket around her, the bottom of it dragged on the ground since she was shorter than Auron. She was alone there, the other three had gone for the Trials. She knelt down by the main door to the temple and shivered. She was still cold. Silently, she drifted off to sleep.  
  
"Rayn," Auron said, Rayn looked into his eyes and kissed him.  
  
Rayn opened her eyes and the three were standing there. "Time to go?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah," said Jecht.  
  
She got up and handed the jacket to Auron. He took it, but when she started walking, he put it back on her shoulders. She turned her head to look at him and tripped over her own foot. "Ow. . ." she said softly.  
  
Braska smiled. "Are you okay Rayn?" He was the only one to help her up.  
  
When Rayn stood again, she handed Auron his jacket back and said, "I'll pull through."  
  
Braska laughed. "Looks like she's trying to be stronger than you Auron," he said.  
  
Auron laughed and Rayn walked further ahead. Jecht whacked Auron in the back of the head. "What?" Auron asked.  
  
Jecht sighed and he ran to catch up with Rayn. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Dad, here's some info for you, I'm not a little girl! If I fall behind, don't be afraid to tell me to catch up or yell or even leave me behind. . ." Rayn looked back at Auron. "I hate him."  
  
"First of all Rayn, I'm not babying you, none of us are. You're keeping up, and if you fall behind, Auron or I will either yell at you or he'll leave you behind." Jecht paused. "Why don't you like Auron?"  
  
Rayn sighed and tried to think of a way to phrase it. "It seems that he's better than anything I could be. I'm weak, he's strong, I'm uncivilized and he's. . . who knows what." Rayn sighed.  
  
Auron walked over. "Rayn, can I talk to you?"  
  
"No," Rayn retaliated quickly. She turned her back on Auron.  
  
"Rayn!" Auron growled. Rayn turned around and blinked slowly. "What do you have against me?"  
  
Sighing, Rayn said, "What don't I have against you?"  
  
Braska called Jecht to his side and they decided to give Rayn and Auron some room. "Those two like each other," Braska said.  
  
"Lovebirds," Jecht smirked.  
  
Auron and Rayn glared at Braska and Jecht. "Shut up!" they shouted.  
  
Placing his jacket on Rayn's shoulders, Auron said, "I'm trying to be nice, but you're not cooperating."  
  
Rayn took the jacket and threw it back at Auron. "I don't want to cooperate with the likes of you."  
  
Auron growled and put his hands on Rayn's shoulders, quickly, he leaned in and kissed her. Rayn froze; she then kicked him in the shin, kneed him in the stomach, and elbowed him in the back of the head.  
  
"Oh damn it! Rayn!" Jecht ran over. Auron lay unconscious on the ground. "What did you do that for?"  
  
"He fricking kissed me! I woulda beat the hell out of him more than I did if he woulda stayed standing!" Rayn crossed her arms. "Wait. . . does that mean we have to drag him?"  
  
"Unfortunately so," Braska laughed. He had never see Auron get attacked so ruthlessly like that by anyone. Braska and Jecht stood Auron up dragged him down the pass. Rayn, on the other hand, wanted to drag him by his feet over sharp rocks, but her father said no.  
  
At the next resting point, Rayn got what she deserved for attacking Auron. She had to take care of him until he woke up. "Fricking crap. . ." was all Rayn said when she learned of this. Yet when Auron awoke, she had everything taken care of. "Sorry about that," she said.  
  
"My fault," Auron said.  
  
"Yeah, it was," responded the girl. She crossed her arms and leaned back in the chair. "Braska said you hated me."  
  
"Yeah, just like you hate me."  
  
"Yup." Rayn stretched.  
  
"You don't care about anything do you?"  
  
Rayn wanted to say no, she wanted to say it so bad, but she had to say yes. "Yeah, I do," she responded. "My dad, Lord Braska, my mother, and my little brother." Rayn smiled thinking of what her brother would look like, what Tidus would look like, now that he was ten years old.  
  
"So you do care?"  
  
"Mostly about Spira. I wanted to be a summoner," Rayn said, she leaned forward and folded her hands. "I wanted to be the one to save Spira some day, save it from Sin." Rayn smiled. "To destroy Sin with the final aeon and bring the Calm." She sighed and smiled at Auron. "Maybe some day." Auron smiled. He got out of bed and threw on his jacket. They walked out of the room. She looked to Auron. "You're not so bad. . . but you can be an asshole." Auron laughed.  
  
From there, when they got to warmer weather, Rayn began skipping down the path to the temple of Bevelle. Singing the Hymn of the Fayth, she as she distanced herself from the three men. When they got to temple, Rayn stayed outside and sat on the steps.  
  
Suddenly, a large creature jumped up to attack her. Her father and the other two came running. Rayn had a large golden staff in her hand, but she was afraid to attack. Auron and Jecht ran to her side to help. The large fiend jumped towards Rayn, she panicked and didn't move. "Rayn!" Auron jumped in the way and took the blow. He fell on one knee and looked at her. "Are you crazy? What the hell did you think you were doing?" he growled.  
  
"I. . . I'm sorry. . . I. . ." She backed away and Braska took her place.  
  
Rayn stood back and watched the three do their damage. Auron attacked, then Jecht, and finally, Braska summoned Shiva and destroyed the creature.  
  
~ End Flashback~  
  
"You see Tidus, that was my first battle," Rayn told her brother.  
  
Tidus nodded, his sister had told him all of this so far, and he was still trying to understand it all. "So, you never went into any of the Cloister of Trials?"  
  
"No," Rayn shook her head. "I didn't like puzzles." She smiled.  
  
"So, what happened next?" Tidus was eager to hear more. 


	3. Confusion

(AN: Personally, I like this chapter. It's a bit long though, sorry about that. But I was typing it upside down, so that was fun! And I only own Rayn!)  
  
Chapter 3  
Confusion  
  
"Hm..." Rayn thought to herself for just a second. "Well, after that, I think I almost gave Auron a heart attack, the damned old geezer."  
  
The two siblings laughed and then Tidus asked, "How'd you managed that?"  
  
_Flashback_   
  
After Braska and his male guardians entered the temple, Rayn was determined to better herself with her fighting. The staff she carried in her hand was made by the Al Bhed fisherman who had caught her in a net when she first arrived in Spira. The staff was a very simple example of machina.  
  
She ventured out of the limits of Bevelle and back into the Macalania Woods where she challenged small fiends. Gradually, she built up strength to where she could beat down the larger fiends in a matter of a few hits. But there were those times when she didn't do so well in combat and the strong fiends would get a good hit in.  
  
By the time she returned to the temple, the three were waiting for her and they stared at her in a bit of a shock when she strode up to them smiling. She was covered from head to toe in fiends' blood and had a gash across her stomach. The large claw of a three-headed, snake-tailed creature was stuck in her right arm; the girl didn't seem to mind though. There was one other claw mark, this one was on the left side of her neck, blood flowed steadily from it.  
  
"A... Are you okay?" Braska asked.  
  
Rayn nodded, "Yup, perfectly fine."  
  
"What were you fighting?" Jecht asked, circling her and looking at the tears in her shirt and the masses of blood on the fabric.  
  
"I think at least two of every fiend in the woods," she mumbled and scratched her chin, smearing the dark blood on her already dirty face.  
  
Laughing, Braska said, "Well, let's get you cleaned up, because if it gets hot, that's really going to smell horrible, especially since we're headed to the Calm Lands." Rayn nodded and the four went to the residential district of Bevelle where they stayed in an inn for the night.  
  
When the doctor came by request of Braska, the summoner and his two male guardians had to hold down their female companion so she wouldn't run while he stitched up her wounds and took the large claw from her arm. He was going to throw it out but Rayn asked to keep it. When the doctor left and the group settled down, Rayn looked to them, a bit peeved that they held her down. She was clean now, but still had blood stains in her clothes, which were still torn from her battles.  
  
The next morning, Braska awoke Rayn and took her out to buy something else to wear, even though she told him that she was perfectly fine with her tattered clothes. From off to the side, Auron, now awake, said, "Take her out to buy something a girl would actually wear."  
  
Looking to Braska, a false grin on her face, Rayn muttered, "I'm gonna kill him... I'm gonna do it... one of these days, I'm gonna do it..."  
  
"Go for it," Jecht grumbled, covering his head with his pillow.  
  
Standing, Rayn turned to the bed that Auron lay on and she ran over there and jumped on him. Auron flipped over onto his back and flung Rayn off the bed and into the wall with his right arm. Getting to her feet, Rayn rubbed her back and walked over to Braska. "I think I lost," she said as the two walked out of the room.  
  
As the two scanned the shops in the industrial district, Braska asked, "Have you seen anything you like yet?"  
  
The teen shook her head and looked over her shoulder at the summoner as he stopped in his tracks and looked at something in one of the shops. Rayn turned around and Braska lifted up a midnight blue long sleeve shirt that didn't cover the shoulders. Taking it in her hands, Rayn tried it on in a small back room of the shop under the supervision of one of the workers. When she walked out, Braska smiled. Under her breath, the girl muttered, "I feel naked..."  
  
The blouse was bought for her and she wore it as the two continued on, now looking for something to replace her 'dead' gray pants. The summoner had thrown away the old blood-stained shirt right after they had bought the new blouse.  
  
Upon passing by a shop that had skirts and dresses, Braska stopped Rayn who immediately asked, "Do I have a choice?"  
  
Simply, the summoner replied, "Not if I'm buying it."  
  
Biting the inside of her right cheek, the teen rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. Fortunately to Rayn, nothing looked good on her. In the end, she ended with a black metal duster around her waist and wearing a pair of dark gray pants that were sold from an Al Bhed shop. When the two returned to the inn, Auron and Jecht were still asleep. "Jeez, you think they would have woken up by now," Rayn whispered to Braska who nodded in response. "Check this," she said to the summoner and then looked to her father and then to Auron. "Hey, there's a naked woman out there!"  
  
Immediately, Jecht sat up and said, "Where? Where?" The twenty-five year old Auron on the other hand just continued to sleep.  
  
"Makes you wonder," muttered Rayn. Stretching vertically, popping her shoulders, Rayn said, "So can we leave him here? I mean, he is falling behind a bit right now. Since like, we're up and... he's still down."  
  
Auron's eyes swiftly opened and he sat up. "I'm awake," he growled.  
  
"Aw rats," Rayn said and snapped her fingers in slight disappointment.  
  
Auron walked over to her got right in her face. "You're starting to get on my bad side," he growled.  
  
"Which side is that? I didn't think you had a good side. It's more like a complete bad and horribly ugly side," she said smiling. The guardian raised his had as if he were going to hit her. Rayn just stared at him, her eyes narrowed and her teeth clenched. If he was going to hit her, she was going to hit him back. He dropped his had to his side and walked past her and out the door, the other three followed.  
  
As they continued down the path, now headed to the Calm Lands, Jecht looked to his daughter. "When did you change?" he asked.  
  
"When I went shopping!" she said happily. The summoner and the teenager's father laughed at the girl's enthusiasm.  
  
Arriving on the Calm Lands, Rayn began to run down the slope, she got a forth of the way down before she tripped over her own foot and rolled to the bottom. The three men just laughed at her as she sat at the bottom, her body wobbling a bit as she tried to recover from the downward spin-cycle.  
  
By the time the other three got down there, she was up on her feet again and walked behind Braska as the other two walked at the summoner's sides. Not far from the slope, a fiend attacked; Rayn was the first one to go at it, Jecht and Auron joined her while Braska took a nap. The large fiend, a giant Marlboro confused the three of them, Jecht whacked Rayn and she smacked him with the staff in her right hand, negating the effects of the confusion. Auron on the other hand, went after Rayn. Just as the finished off the fiend, he went at her and tackled her to the ground, his eyes clouded over.  
  
Terrified, the girl boosted him off with her feet and took off running back towards Bevelle. The remaining guardian and the summoner stared at the two as they ran, Rayn running for her life, and Auron, his sword over his head, ready to cut the girl in half. Halfway to the city, Auron caught up to the girl and swung, Rayn ducked and then climbed into a tree. She climbed up higher and he swung again, this time getting his weapon stuck in the wood. The girl proceeded to laugh at him, but her 'victory' was cut short when he grabbed her barely dangling ankle and dragged her forcibly out of the large plant.  
  
The girl landed heavily on the ground, a feeling of pain passing up her spine like lightning. The male guardian, his eyes still clouded over, put his foot on her neck, cutting off her breathing. The teen thrashed around, trying to get loose but he just pushed down harder. Angling her leg awkwardly, Rayn kicked him in the butt making him turn around and move his foot from her throat. Rayn then rolled out of the way but accidentally down a steep wooded slope, hitting every tree on the way down.  
  
Lying on stomach at the bottom, Rayn got her arms under her and got up. She now realized she was down by the sparkling water she had been sitting at when she told Auron to go to hell. She limped over to the water's edge and knelt down. As soon as Auron's reflection appeared behind her, she cupped her hands full of water and flung it into his face; she then tackled him to the ground and brought out a small golden sphere which she turned into her staff.  
  
The girl brought the staff down on her companion's neck as she sat on his stomach. "Snap out of it, Auron!" she shouted. He began to fight with her once more, trying to keep the staff from blocking off his air. Auron brought his left hand under the staff and threw a wild swing at the girl, catching her in the eye and breaking the skin just below it. Rayn flew to the side and just a bit into the water.  
  
He got to his feet and made his way over to her, the light-brown haired girl brought up her staff and gave him a quick whack to the side and he snapped out of the confusion. Rayn clutched onto the golden stick, her facial expression still showing worried and frightened. "Rayn?" he questioned and knelt down to looked to her, "Why are you bleeding this time?"  
  
Her eyes lighting up, the teen dropped the staff and wrapped her arms around his neck, silently she cried. Her entire body shook; she was still terrified from the previous experience. She reached down and put away the staff in her pocket as it had already turned back into its sphere form. She let go of her comrade as he stood up. She tried to do the same but fell forward, she was too nerve wracked to stand at all.  
  
With a sigh, Rayn looked up to him, "Well, don't let me hold you up. I'm falling behind," she said. She then flopped onto her back. "So get out of here, I can't go on."  
  
Without a second thought, Auron turned and walked away, he had no knowledge of what had happened; not one bit of memory at all. Getting back to Jecht and Braska, they looked at him awkwardly as he said, "Let's go."  
  
"And what about my daughter?" Jecht asked, a bit angered.  
  
"She fell behind," said Auron.  
  
A small pit of anger in him, Jecht took off running to find his child, leaving Auron to watch him go in a confused state. Auron asked the summoner what happened and as soon as it was explained, the two took off running after Jecht who was now far ahead of them.  
  
Rayn, now on her knees, held her staff in her hands as she listened to the sounds of movement in the forest. At hearing footsteps, she tightened her grip on the simple Al Bhed machina and opened her eyes. Yet when she saw her father standing in front of her, she dropped the staff and fell back onto her butt.  
  
"Can you stand?" he asked. Rayn shook her head slightly and looked down. Her father turned around and knelt down. "Get on," he said.  
  
"But... what about..." Rayn began to say.  
  
Looking over his shoulder at his daughter, Jecht said, "Hey, you're supposed to listen to me, I'm your father. Now get on, I'll carry you." The girl felt small again.  
  
She crawled over and got onto his back, he then wrapped his arms around her legs as she held onto him tightly. "Thank you," she whispered.  
  
At the top of the incline stood Auron and Braska, they were waiting for them. Auron had retrieved his blade and was going to apologize to Rayn but she was asleep. Walking up next to Jecht, Braska said, "With her here, there's never a dull moment, is there?"  
  
"Sure isn't," replied Jecht. Shifting the girl's weight, Jecht mumbled, "She sure has gained a bit of weight..."  
  
"I heard that," Rayn mumbled in her slightly conscious state of sleep, she then went back fully under the influence of rest.  
  
_End Flashback  
_  
Rayn stood up and stretched a bit for a moment. "That, I swear to god, was the scariest few moments of my life. First I almost get killed, then I thought I was going to get left behind." She shook her head.  
  
Leaning back and crossing his arms, Tidus asked, "So those scars you got from hunting alone, did they stay?"  
  
"If you mean, do I still have them..." She turned her head to show him the pink scar marks on her neck where the skin was still recovering. She then lifted her sleeve to show him where the claw had been stuck, and then lifted her shirt just a bit to show him where the gashes were. "I still got them."  
  
"And the claw?" His sister pulled at a thin black rope around her neck and brought out the claw. Tidus stared at it wide eyed for was the size of his palm. "You carry that thing with you?"  
  
"Everywhere I go," she replied.  
  
The two then laughed and Tidus asked, "So, did Dad ever talk about me?"  
  
Rayn nodded. "I asked a lot of questions about you and he was happy to speak your name. But we'll get to that later." She pondered for a bit and then said, "Now, what happened next?"  
  
(AN: By the way, I did mean to explain this earlier, but the thing about Rayn's last name, Terran, it's not Jecht or Tidus's last name, it was given to her by some Al Bhed when she was younger. I'll explain more in a later chapter.) 


	4. The Things You Do

(A/N: IT HAS BEEN WRITTEN! It took me three days to write this story. But here it is! YAY! You can read it now, enjoy!)  
  
Chapter 4  
The Things You Do  
  
"Right, right, right," mumbled Rayn. "I think the next day was my birthday..." Standing up, she walked off to the side and stared off onto the woods, her arms crossed.  
  
"Is that a bad thing?" Tidus asked, turning his head to watch his sibling.  
  
When the twenty-seven year old turned around, she had tears in her eyes. "It was horrible..." she managed to squeak out.  
  
Flashback   
  
When Rayn awoke, she was in a tent. She tried to get to her feet but ended up falling back to her knees. She still hadn't recovered from practically having the life scared out of her the day before. She crawled out of the pavilion on her hands and knees. Upon getting out on the grass, she sat up on her legs and looked to her right. The tent had been set up on the ledge at the far left of the Calm Lands.  
  
The sun was starting to set and it shown directly on her body, making her squint and casting a long shadow behind her. For a while, she stared at the darkening sky. But when a soft voice behind her said, "You're awake now?" she spun around quickly and toppled over the ledge.  
  
The speaker, Auron, ran over and caught her by her wrist. He grabbed on with both of his hands and pulled her up. He took her up in his arms when she was back on land and it took Rayn a few minutes to realize what was going on.  
  
When she snapped back to reality, she pulled away from him, drew back, and slugged him in the face. Auron fell backward and landed on his back, he covered his face with his hands. At that, Jecht and Braska ran over. "Auron," muttered Braska, "We said slow; to take things slow does not mean..." he trailed off as he caught the angry expression on the face of Jecht's daughter. "I'm going to shut up now," he gulped.  
  
Rayn looked from the summoner to the injured Auron. "Try it again," she growled, "And I swear to Yevon I'll castrate you." She then trudged away.  
  
Glancing at his only the blitzball player, Braska asked, "How would she do that? She doesn't have a knife."  
  
In response, Jecht said, "She'll smash it; she does have a staff after all."  
  
Quickly getting to his feet, Auron turned in the direction Rayn had gone and shouted after her, "What the hell is your problem?" The only response the metal duster wearing girl gave was to shoot him the bird as she kept walking.  
  
Scratching his head, Jecht replied, "That's not the way to go."  
  
Braska added in, "Definitely not the safest path to tread on."  
  
When Rayn returned to the others around the time night fell, they were sitting a few feet away from the ledge, looking up at the sky, star-gazing. She stopped came to a stop a few yards away from them. She had her hands in her pockets and was looking out at the horizon.  
  
Looking to his daughter, Jecht asked, "Why don't you join us?"  
  
Turning her head to look at her father, her eyes shot to Auron and she replied, a sort of nasty tone in her voice, "Hud frema ra'c ynuiht." ("Not while he's around.") Her father looked to her with a puzzled facial expression and Braska tried to stifle his own laughter. At that, Rayn looked to the summoner. "Oui cbayg Al Bhed?" ("You speak Al Bhed?")  
  
The summoner nodded and replied, "I should, I married one." He got to his feet and walked over to the girl. "And might I ask, how do you know the language?"  
  
Summoning her staff, the teen replied, "I picked it up from the fisherman who gave me this staff." Clutching onto the golden weapon she whispered, "I owe that man my life."  
  
Getting up, Auron walked over to them and said, his voice a bit hateful, "Wait a minute, I thought they were the bad guys, the Al Bhed. Isn't machina outlawed by Yevon?"  
  
Shooting the staff outward, past Braska, and right under Auron's chin, the girl said to him, "Don't ever say anything bad about the Al Bhed while I'm around." The warrior monk backed away and Rayn growled, "Those people raised me, and I won't let you insult them."  
  
Braska moved out of the way and Auron spat at the girl's feet. "Yeah, they taught you how to be a thief!"  
  
The girl lowered the staff and returned it to her pocket in its sphere form. Not even a second after that, she sprang upon the warrior monk, knocking him to the ground. She grabbed him by the front of his shirt as she sat upon him and punched him furiously in the side of his face. "You don't understand!" she shouted.  
  
Jecht got to his feet and went to stand next to Braska. They stared in disbelief as the girl continuously pummeled her fellow guardian. When Jecht was going to step in to stop it, Braska stopped him and shook his head. They then just continued to watch as Auron forced himself not to hit back.  
  
Hitting him again and again, now alternating fists, Rayn shouted, "You don't understand! You just don't understand what I've been through!" Hitting him once more, she grabbed his shirt collar roughly and shouted in his face. "That man died protecting me!" She hit him again. "It's my fault he's dead!" And again. "You insult him and his people and you... you..." She hit him once more but it was just a bare tap. She hunched over on top of him and began crying.  
  
Auron brought his arms up and around her. He hugged her tightly against him. He had no words to undo what he said earlier.  
  
As she sobbed on his shoulder, Rayn choked out, "You've got the IQ of a fucking lima bean." She then buried her face against him.  
  
He looked down at her and muttered, "What?"  
  
Jecht smirked and said, "She said you have the IQ of a f-"  
  
"JECHT!" Braska interrupted at the right time.  
  
"Oops," Jecht laughed and headed back to the tent for the night. He left Rayn there with Auron hoping that they he would fix the problem he had made. Braska must have thought the same, for he too went to the tent; plus, he enjoyed what the warrior monk had gotten for making fun of his wife.  
  
Rayn sat up and slipped off of Auron, breaking his hold on her. Her tears were quiet now, but they still came down. Sitting up behind her, he whispered, "I'm sorry."  
  
"Saying sorry isn't going to bring him back, so just don't say it..." Rayn retaliated, her voice weak and moist from her sadness and tears.  
  
Silently, the warrior monk brought his right arm around her, she smacked it away. He tried again, but the same smack was his response. Three more times he tried, but it always resulted the same. He sighed, feeling a bit defeated. But then, he leaned forward and embraced her tightly.  
  
Her entire body tensing up, Rayn lowered her head and bit him on the arm, he didn't let go. She bit down harder, but still no release. Pulling her closer to him, he whispered in her ear, "I'm not afraid of you." Raising her hands up, she gripped onto his arm and dug her nails into his skin as she continued to bite down harder.  
  
Soon, the angry girl had punctured his skin with her nails, and blood began to flow freely from the wounds. Moving her hair back with his chin, the warrior monk whispered softly, "Then take my blood as an apology if you would not have it in words." And he tenderly kissed her neck.  
  
Rayn's grip on his arm loosened and she dropped her hands back to her sides. She released his arm from her teeth and looked up to the stars. As Auron rested his head on her shoulder, tears welled up in her eyes once more as her gaze into the heavens seemed never ending.  
  
Upon waking up the next day, Rayn was still in Auron's arms. They lay on their right sides, facing the cliff, but a bit of a distance between them and the fall. "You awake yet?" came a voice. The girl looked up and saw her father staring down at her. She then felt two inches tall as she rolled away from the sleeping Auron and got to her feet. "What do you have to say for your self young lady?" he asked, crossing his arms and all of a sudden seeming extremely father-like.  
  
Rayn shrugged while raising her hands just a bit said, "Wobba-bobba?" with an extremely innocent yet confused expression on her face.  
  
"That's not even a reasonable answer," came Braska's voice from not to far away. Rayn turned around and the summoner was standing right there.  
  
Rayn looked to the ground and shuffled her right foot from side to side and tapped her index fingers together. "Why do you two now have to act like grown-ups?" she mumbled.  
  
"What?" Jecht asked and looked to Braska. "What's a 'grown-up'?"  
  
Braska shrugged and said, "Beats me, I don't have a clue." The two then smirked and Rayn felt a bit freaked out.  
  
Jecht then pulled out a small box from behind his back and held it out to her. "Happy birthday, kid," he said, taking her hand and putting the box in it.  
  
Rayn looked at him like he was stupid. She hadn't gotten a gift for her birthday since she got to Spira and didn't know how to react. "Hey stupid," muttered Jecht. "Didn't I teach you to say thank you?"  
  
"No, Mom taught me that, stupid," Rayn replied. Braska got a laugh out of that, but hid it well. She looked down at the box in her hand and then opened it. Inside was a necklace with a silver ornament on it. The pendant was the same design as the black mark that was on Jecht's chest.  
  
The blitzball player took the necklace out of the box and slipped it over his daughter's head. Stepping back, he looked at his daughter as she held the silver jewel in her right hand. She seemed to be caught up in her own little world as she stared off into space.  
  
Getting to his feet, Auron looked to Jecht who slightly glared at him but then smiled. The warrior monk laughed nervously and then looked to Braska who was watching Rayn with a slight grin on his face.  
  
Tears silently drizzling down her cheeks, Rayn leapt forward and hugged her father. "Thank you," she whispered, "you don't know how much this means to me." It had been so long since she had received a gift from anyone. Spira was a harsh place for a ten-year old girl to practically raise herself. And such a place can harden the spirit of a young person to where they never cry. Nut now Rayn cried, for the first time since before she arrived in this world known as Spira.  
  
End Flashback   
  
"I know what you're thinking," Rayn whispered to Tidus. "It wasn't that horrible, it was just sappy." She sniffled and wiped her eyes with her hands. "But my birthday wasn't over yet. That same day, I would be born again."  
  
"Born again?" Tidus asked. His sibling nodded. "What do you mean?"  
  
Sighing slightly, Rayn replied, "Time to continue..."  
  
(A/N: Hey, if you like this story, I humbly ask you read my story "Quest for the Lost Pants". It's an FFX-2 fic. It's not really a serious story, it's not even a romance (For those of you that like them) but it's something out of my ordinary groove. Well, have a good day, all of you!) 


End file.
